Between the end of 2024 and March 2025, Bahrain’s King Ahmed bin Isa Al Khalifa granted two royal pardons that freed a large number of prisoners. The first pardon was granted on 15 December 2024 to mark Bahrain’s National Day and the 25th anniversary of the king’s accession to the throne. On this occasion, 896 prisoners were released. The second pardon was granted on the occasion of Eid Al Fitr (the end of Ramadan) on 27 March 2025. In this case, the number of prisoners released was 630. In recent years, Bahrain has also started to introduce a number of reforms that give prisoners the opportunity to serve their sentences in a different way (e.g. through social work).
Despite royal pardons and reforms to limit the number of inmates in prison, many political prisoners continue to be arbitrarily detained. None of them have been released after the pardons, and none have been offered an alternative programme to serve their sentence. This shows how repression against human rights activists continues in Bahrain.
Extremely worrying, moreover, is the way in which many of these prisoners are treated. There is strong evidence to show that, over time, abuse and torture have been used by the authorities to obtain information. In addition to this, the conditions in which prisoners are forced to live in Bahrain are inhumane and borderline. Among the prisons that have become infamous for their living conditions is the one in Jau. In it, inmates have been subjected to abuse by the authorities and deprived of water, food, and medical care for long periods of time.
Many activists who have spoken out against the abuses perpetrated by the Bahraini government over time continue to be forced to endure further persecution. This is the case of Abdulhadi al-Khawaja, who was arbitrarily arrested in 2011 following the demonstrations that broke out in the country and that he supported. During his arrest, al-Khawja was repeatedly beaten and was later sentenced in June of the same year to a life sentence. The charges on which this sentence was based, however, were not supported by tangible and credible evidence. After more than a decade, al-Khawaja continues to be detained in Jau prison, where he lives in extreme conditions. Furthermore, he suffers from chronic pain, but the authorities continue to deny him any kind of medical care.
Another activist who has been in prison since 2011 is Dr. Abduljalil al-Singace. He, too, was arrested during the period of protests and has now been imprisoned for 14 years. Since 2021, al-Singace has been on a hunger strike after an officer in the Jau prison seized a manuscript he had been working on for several years. The manuscript contained a study on Bahraini languages and dialects, and no comments on the government and its actions. His strike continues to this day, and although he is in a medical centre, al-Singace has never been given the opportunity to serve his sentence in an alternative way.
There are also other activists who have suffered and continue to suffer such persecution from the Bahraini government. Hassan Mushaima, Sheikh Mohamed Habib al-Muqdad, and Sheikh Ali Salman are just some of the names of those who have been arbitrarily arrested for their activism. In addition to them, it is also concerning that 26 people in Bahrain are on death row after being convicted through falsified trials based on evidence obtained through violence.
In the face of all this, the Bahraini government continues to cover up the violence perpetrated by the authorities, especially when it comes to high-ranking officials. There are institutions in the country that should deal with these issues: the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry, the Ombudsman for the Ministry of Interior, and the National Institute for Human Rights. These institutions, however, are not always able to clearly address the abuses perpetrated by the authorities.
The royal pardons guaranteed by the King and the government’s reforms should therefore not be seen as a total step forward. If they really were, prisoners of conscience would also have to be freed. Unfortunately, the country’s government never seems to want to comment on them. The persecution of human rights activists in Bahrain, therefore, continues, and no institution that should protect them manages to hold the government accountable. This is why it is good to continue talking about those unjustly detained in Bahrain, the conditions in which they live and the way in which the Bahraini government continues to prosecute them. This is the only way to show the world the brutal persecutions happening in Bahrain.